West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service cut its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,879 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $32,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $323.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 23.71 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $303.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.26. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.46%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.